Emily at One Month (pict)

Flor's Drawing

Picture from Flor de Maria

Compassion International

This is Flor de Maria, the child we sponsor through Compassion International. (Some of the information has been removed in the photo to protect our sponsor information, etc.) We have been sponsoring her for 5 or 6 years now. We started it as part of our homeschool experience. We can not say enough good things about how positive an experience this has been for our entire family.

Now that she is older, we hear from her quite often and are able to ask specific questions. In her last letter, she said she'd pray for Wendy and the baby and asked us to send her a picture when Emily was born. She also asked that we kiss Emily for her. She sends us pictures every time she sends a letter. We pray for and love her and her family just as if they were right here in the states.

Sponsorship is $32 a month and includes their school, meals at the school, health care, health education, materials, etc. You can send monetary gifts for the family up to a certain amount and specify how you want that gift spent.

When you pray for our family, please pray for Flor de Maria and her aged grandparents who are raising three children.

Beautiful Weather...It's Thunderstorming

and we are getting some much needed rain!! PTL for answered prayers!

James 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Thank you Shayla

for visiting the blog and for your encouraging and uplifting comments. Congratulations on your engagement!

Way Cool Gramma!

Our thoughts, prayers and excitement are with our dear friend and adopted family member Susan as she takes her first flying lesson today! How cool is that?! We are eagerly awaiting details!

'round here

Amanda's virus turned into a sore throat. Yesterday evening, she could barely talk. She ate two garlic cloves last night and said she can tell a difference in her energy level as well as her throat's pain and swelling this morning. She had another couple for breakfast. Bethany seems congested this a.m. and was very out of sorts yesterday evening, so she may be starting with it. Caleb and Joshua ran a temperature last night and still seem tired. Brandon seems better, but still more tired than normal. Emily and I are still symptom free.

Today, I plan to catch up on the laundry and clean out all of the trash cans. I am also doing some preparations for school on Monday. I am making learning books and tapes for Bethany, Caleb and Joshua.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Bloomin' Sunflowers

Amanda planted sunflower seeds all over our yard and garden this year.
We are enjoying their beauty.
Gardening is a great way to teach children about working to reap rewards later.

Diaper Organizer

We found the plastic tub from the hospital makes a great diaper organizer for disposable diapers.
We use to use cloth diapers before moving to the farm.
Our mineral rich water ruins the cloth diapers too quickly for them to be economical for us, so we went to disposables.

Potty Talk

Well, we didn't get the much awaited toilet installed yesterday. Clint, Brandon, Amanda, Joshua and Caleb fell sick to a stomach bug. Emily, Bethany and I have not had it yet and hope we don't get it. It seems to be lasting a few hours in each person. Today, we are napping and recovering. We'll return phone calls and e-mails another day. We are wiped out today.

Brandon and Emily

I think one of the more wonderful things about giving control of our reproductive lives over to the Lord is the blessing of seeing our older children with our youngest. Brandon is 15. He adores his new sister. He would feel her move around in the womb and tell me he could not wait until she was born. He's very protective over her and has thanked me for giving her to our family. He reminds US to be careful to support her head and asks us when she ate and how she's doing. He also took great pride in caring for and dressing his younger three siblings when it was time for them to go to the hospital to meet Emily. I could not help but laugh when he showed distress over Bethany finding some dirt to get into after he spent all of that time making her look nice.

He also told us he looks forward to being able to babysit over a weekend so Clint and I can go on a vacation. That's my boy!!! :-)

Wednesday

Clint has only a few days left before he has to go back to work. His month off has been wonderful. It was the best gift to me! I have never had a relaxing postpartum period before. I have always had to get up and do things right after the baby was born. With the last one, I had to immediately start cleaning from Hurricane Isabel. That clean up was two solid weeks of back and heart breaking work.

I so enjoyed this postpartum period. I had breakfast in bed several times. I slept whenever I grew tired. I was surrounded by my family and everyone treated me like royalty. I have not cooked at all-my wonderful family did it for me! The laundry was even kept up. Clint has brought home meals from restaurants and treated me like a queen. I will miss him when he goes back to work.

Monday he took the children to Busch Gardens, but forgot to take the camera and get pictures. I stayed home with Emily.

Today, he is working on things around the house and plans to fix our downstairs toilet. It has not worked since Hurricane Isabel. I am so eager to have TWO WORKING TOILETS again!!!!!

Yesterday, he fixed the clotheslines that were falling down and added a few new lines. He also removed things from the 5th wheel that we want to keep for our motor home. Brandon cut grass for us. The boys and I cleaned in the house and did some laundry. Amanda baked a German chocolate cake and cleaned up the 5th wheel inside.

Last week, we picked blackberries and Amanda turned those into delicious pies for us.

Every evening, Clint and I take Emily for a stroller ride around the farm. We usually have some small tag-a-longs with us. Bethany and Caleb enjoy finding blackberries to eat along the way. I have been teaching them names of plants and showing them signs of animals.

I am starting to work on getting the house in order. It falls apart while I am expecting thanks to the HG and will take me several weeks to get it back like I like it. I can handle a little disorder and even expect it. I can't stand it when everything is a mess though. I need to paint, but will do that in the fall when I can open the windows.

We are getting tomatoes out of the garden now.

Hello to the Stine Family who dropped us an e-mail. They look like a lovely family! I'll be answering your e-mail in a day or so.

Thank you to everyone for the soap orders this week.

Don't forget to laugh and have fun with your children. Chores can be fun if you change your attitude. Work is NOT a bad word! Work prevents boredom, increases enjoyment of free moments and gives us something meaningful and constructive to do with our time. Parenting children is limited to a few short years. Make the most of it!

Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel

Visiting

Last week, we took Emily out to see several friends I haven't seen since the HG started. It was really nice to get out and we enjoyed ourselves.

Last Friday, Clint took Emily, Bethany and I to both places he works for his full time employer. We dropped off cookies and thank you cards to show our appreciation for the flowers and chocolate. We got to meet his new bosses Dave Mc. (also our brother in Christ), Jesse (really nice!!) and Jaimie (saw for just a second). We also met many of his co-workers that we have never seen before. And, we got to see the ones we have known for years now. I especially enjoyed meeting/seeing the Daves (there are several), Eric (always smiling), Mike, Roy (another brother in Christ), Sen, Ha and Do, Virginia, Frankie, Rachel, Shauna, Tasha, Gary (marrying Virginia in the fall), Rick, Ann, Linda, Diane, Vincent (brother in Christ), Richard and Jim (the schedulers) and many others. I am sure I am forgetting someone. It was a lot of fun and I was made to feel welcome. Emily and Bethany were big hits, but everyone wanted to see the whole gang. We'll have to drop by with all of the children in tow soon.

Virginia kindly watched Bethany and Emily in her office so I could take a Clint-guided tour of the manufacturing area. We practically took over her office and it was where we met most of the people. We didn't think of getting the camera, so we didn't get any pictures.

Clint also showed me his office where he is setting up for his new job.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,to sing praises to your name, O Most High; —Psalm 92:1

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;to you, O Lord, I will make music.—Psalm 101:1

Ears

My ears gave me a fit until the a/c in our bedroom broke. The first 24 hours afterwards, my ears cleared up noticeably. By 48 hours, I was back to normal! PTL! After 6 weeks of stuffy ears and ear infections, I finally have relief!

We found mold growing deep down inside of the a/c where we couldn't reach to clean. Clint bought a new one and installed it in another window where it can get more air flow and hopefully prevent more mold. He also bought one each for the boy's and Amanda's rooms. We learned that keeping Amanda's room fairly cool at night will help her to sleep deeper and may prevent or lessen the sleepwalking.

Pacifiers May Reduce Risk of SIDS

Does using a pacifier affect my baby's risk of SIDS?

Studies show a lower incidence of SIDS among infants who use pacifiers, although experts don't know whether there's a direct cause and effect. Because of the correlation, the AAP suggests that you give your baby a pacifier when putting him down for naps and at bedtime for the first year of life. It's not necessary to reinsert the pacifier if your baby drops it once he falls asleep, and you certainly shouldn't try to force your baby to use one. The AAP also cautions that if you're nursing, you shouldn't begin using a pacifier until breastfeeding is well established. It's up to you to weigh the pros and cons of using a pacifier.

http://www.babycenter.com/

Most of our babies would not take or would limitedly use pacifiers. Emily takes them sometimes. We've never had a problem with our breastfed babies being "confused" by pacifiers.

Diaper Changing Fun

We leave messages for each other on the diapers.

Amanda's Origami

Amanda read the story of Sadako at the end of my pregnancy and started making origami animals.
I got her a few books on it from Paperbackswap.com and she made this mobile for her room.
We have an origami zoo spread throughout the house.

Caleb in the Cradle

Caleb in the cradle my grandfather made while watching a movie in Dad's and Mom's room.
Our whole family watched Astronaut Farmer yesterday.
Our room is small, so we have wall to wall children.

Sweet Dreams

She looks like she's enjoying her sleep, doesn't she?

Emily is doing great.
She started sleeping through the night!
Saturday she slept 7 hours straight. Sunday night she slept 9 1/2 hours straight through.
Of course, Clint and I didn't get that much sleep. We got up several times to check on her/stare at her to make sure she was OK. :-)

She eats like a champ and gained 7 ounces in a 5 day span!

M R Not Rubber Duckies

I believe in keeping my word, especially to my children.
About five days ago, Caleb asked if he could go outside and watch the ducks play in the water.
I told him he could when it got cooler. Caleb is fair skinned. He burns and overheats in this kind of weather easily.
The near 100 degree heat has not let up and he has patiently asked every day since.
I worried I'd forget and he'd give up and miss out on something he really wanted to do. So...
Today, I let him bring a couple of the ducks in to the downstairs bathroom and put them in the tub.
There was a whole lot of happy quacking and wild giggling going on!
Ducks + Water = FUN!
It was well worth the extra cleaning I'll have to give the tub!

Another Special Thank You

to Printpack for sending the flowers!

Special Thanks

to the maintenance department at Clint's company for rejoicing with us and sending us 9 lbs of chocolate airmailed right from the Hershey's factory!
It was a big hit with the entire family!!

Stuffed

Clint stuffed it so full of scrap that he had to screw the doors shut!
Nala is still resting in the shade!

They got $250 at the scrap yard. I think the mixed metal rate is 4 cents a lb.

They are suppose to take some aluminum to be recycled soon.

It wouldn't fit as it was...

so he sawed the refrigerator in half.
You can see our old camper beside the small barn in the background.
It was flooded twice. Clint tore it down to make a trailer out of it after our other trailer bit the dust. We recycled all we could out of it to use in the RV. The cushions on the bed, we threw on the floor to lay around on while we hang out together.

Loading the Mama Van for Her Final Voyage

Clint and Brandon loaded the Mama Van with appliances (had been destroyed in the flood) and scrap metal to take to the scrap yard.
Bethany and Caleb are holding the doors. Nala and a cat are enjoying the shade underneath.

Sleeping on Daddy

I got the back of her head so we could remember her newborn hair, which is already starting to fall out.
Ahh, newborns are so soft and cuddly!

Emily Joy at 2 weeks old

snoozing in the car seat

Beyond Morning Sickness

Ashli McCall, author of Beyond Morning Sickness and a fellow homeschooling mother, contacted me right before Emily was born and offered me a copy of her book Beyond Morning Sickness. I thought that was very nice! I have been reading excerpts from it as time has allowed. It is well written and I recommend it to HG sufferers and care providers. I'll be keeping my copy for future reference and encouragement during any future pregnancies.

I also recommend it for those who think HG is "just morning sickness" or "in a woman's head" or your friend "being melodramatic over a little bit illness." I think you'll come away with a whole new understanding of how debilitating HG can be.

Amazon also offers some reviews on this book here.

Thank you Ashli for contacting me, offering the book and for your prayers. I found a few things I will try before and during the next pregnancy to see if it makes any difference.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

A Dead Coyote

Our neighbor told us someone killed a coyote within a few miles of our home. We realize there are probably more around, but hoping it was the only one and ends the problems we had last year.

Clint plans on giving Brandon and I some more target practice before he heads back to work. If something pops up, we'll be well equipped to handle it. We won't stand there and watch our animals be viciously torn apart. If you saw the pictures last year, you know it was bad. We had to take the picts down because of the paranormal people who were giving out our url to chupacabra fans. Some of those folks are a little nuttier than others. :-)

Sleepy Baby

Emily is much like Amanda was in that she wants to sleep a lot. She has to be woken up for her feedings and takes an hour to an hour and a half to eat. She has still not regained her birth weight but has grown in head circumference by half an inch. We are weighing her every night and keeping track of her feedings. Since we've gone through this before with Amanda, we are pretty good at aggravating Emily into eating with diaper changes, baths, tickling hands and feet, undressing her, etc. She is 3 oz shy of her birth weight. The doctor wants to see her at her birth weight again by 2-3 weeks, so nothing is critical, but we are keeping an eye on her.

Bethany says Thank You

to her Internet Aunt Denise for the clothes for her and Emily!
As soon as she saw this dress, she took off her clothes and put it on.

Ears, ears, ears, ears

Wendy was running a low grade temp. over the weekend and earlier this week. We think her ears were trying to get infected again. She still has fluid, but it has reduced some. She is on an herbal antibiotic and it has already cut the fever. She has a week left of that. Other than her ears, she is doing fine. I am making sure she's taking it easy and resting. She got breakfast in bed again this morning.

She says to thank everyone of the soap orders that have come in this week.

She says she'll catch up on e-mail next week.

I still have not worked on the phones, but plan to soon.

I thought I was tough

Tough
by Craig Morgan

Thank you for giving me another child Wendy. I love you sweetheart!

~Clint

Snoozing

I hope Wendy doesn't mind another woman in my life because I am smitten with this one. ~Clint

The Cradle

Here's all of them in (or near) the heirloom cradle Wendy's grandfather made for her.
All of them have slept in this.

Wide Awake

Emily and Daddy

Emily is nursing like a champ.
She is gaining weight and sleeps 5-51/2 hours at a time.

Emily Joy 1 Week Old

Here is Emily at one week (today).
Today was her estimated due date!